There are few design platforms as popular and robust as Canva, which was founded way back in 2012. But Kittl has emerged as an impressive contender. And though it’s only been on the scene since 2020, creators are starting to take notice. Some even use the two platforms in tandem to cover all the bases in their design process. So if you’re trying to choose between Kittl vs Canva or simply explore the gamut of what’s possible with these browser-based tools, you’re in the right place.
Capabilities
Let’s start with the basics. As you might already know, both Kittl and Canva are DIY graphic design platforms that help creators design many different types of content. Each offers templates, design elements, and collaboration capabilities. Both platforms have a similar interface that’s pretty easy to learn, but there are a number of differences that matter.
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As a Canva alternative, Kittl does not allow you to crop or mask designs, so it’s more limited in this regard. Canva also provides product mockups you can quickly put together, while Kittl doesn’t. On the other hand, Kittl allows you to manipulate and edit text in more ways than Canva.
You can upload your own fonts to both of these platforms. Canva has far more fonts to choose from, but Kittl’s are still high quality.
Templates & Textures
If you’re comparing Kittl vs Canva based on the amount of templates offered, Canva wins by a landslide. From promos to presentations to event flyers and more, Canva is jam-packed with customizable templates – Even the free version has over 250,000.
Meanwhile, Kittl is often a favorite of print-on-demand shops because of its detailed templates. Canva’s templates are overall a bit simpler. So if you’re looking for more artistic templates, Kittl is ideal. Each platform allows you to follow template designers and favorite individual designs (in Kittle you can click “heart” and in Canva “star”).
Both Kittl and Canva have template designers that you can follow and can “heart” (Kittl) or “star” (Canva) individual designs.
Another niche feature Kittl offers that Canva does not is textures. Depending on the type of designs you’re after, this may or may not be important to you. And of course, if templates aren’t your thing, you can skip them entirely and build all your projects from scratch.
Kittl vs Canva Pricing Plans
Canva offers a simple three-tiered pricing plan with a range of features (here’s a rundown of Canva free vs paid). Canva’s monthly cost for Pro is $12.99 and for Teams it’s $14.99.
Kittl’s pricing plan is slightly different and has one unique quirk. Like Canva, Kittl has a free plan and a pro plan. But their third plan is called Expert, and the price depends on how many AI credits you want (anywhere from 100 to 1400 per month). They also offer personalized plans for businesses that need more robust team features.
Keep in mind, Kittl’s free plan is fairly limited. It doesn’t offer a commercial license, so you’ll have to give attribution if you use their designs. It also doesn’t allow you to export high-resolution images, which could be a dealbreaker for many creators.
Unsurprisingly, Canva Pro is comparable to Kittl Pro, and the cost is the same: about $120/year.
The biggest value of Kittle Expert is that you gain access to premium templates and significantly more storage space (10 GB in the Expert tier vs 1 GB in the Pro tier). This is also true of Canva Pro, but Canva Pro offers far more space (1 TB).
AI Features
With AI design being such a hot topic, it’s no surprise that both Kittl and Canva have incorporated AI technology into their platforms.
Canva offers a plethora of AI tools including Beat Sync, which syncs your videos to the beat of whatever music you use. There’s also Magic Erase, which lets you instantly remove objects or even people from images. Canva even has an AI writer so you can generate content to go with your designs.
Kittl takes a different approach with an AI art generator built into their platform. On the right-hand side, you can click the diamond icon and open up a text-to-image generator (this is where your Kittl AI credits come into play). One credit gets you one image.
Collaboration
If you compare Kittl vs Canva for collaboration purposes, both get the job done. Both Canva and Kittl allow you to share links with team members and request feedback on designs via comments. With a place to collaborate, teams can get design projects done faster and without as much confusion.
Software & Integrations
Canva is better as far as versatility because it has a mobile app for both iOS and Android. If you want to use Kittl, you’re limited to using it on your desktop.
Canva is also chock full of integration options. Geared toward marketers and business owners, Canva integrates with a plethora of popular tools like Buffer, Notion, Mailchimp, Asana, and more. Educators can even integrate Canva into their Learning Management System.
Being a newer platform, Kittl isn’t loaded with integrations, but it has a few nice perks. For example, you can bring in photos straight from Unsplash and start editing them.
By now, you can probably tell that Canva is diverse. They want to give you as many useful tools as possible so that you think of their platform as a one-stop-shop for creating things. Meanwhile, Kittl is focused. They specialize in design quality, so you get premium fonts and one-of-a-kind templates you simply can’t find elsewhere.
The Verdict: Kittl vs Canva
Here’s the deal: If you run a print-on-demand business, you’ll like Kittl better. This is because Kittl offers more font customization options and the ability to change the colors in illustrations. Kittl is more relevant for creating original, unique designs that exceed expectations. With that said, it can be used for things other than print-on-demand.
Kittl’s template options and storage space simply don’t live up to Canva’s. You might find Canva’s options overwhelming, leading to option overload. Or you might find it to be more valuable than Kittl’s more limited selection.
For the general population that doesn’t need as much artistry in their designs? You’ll probably want Canva. The average creator or business owner will get more bang for their buck. Whether you use the Free or Pro plan, Canva gives you plenty of options for templates, design elements, integrations, and add-ons. Plus, it requires no graphic design skills. While Kittl doesn’t require advanced skills either, some critics feel the platform is more complex.
Related post: Curious about Canva vs Figma?
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